Wrestling

AU Wrestling Announced as Finalist for NWCA Best of Brand Top Newcomer Award

May 20, 2015

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The American University wrestling program was selected as one of 12 finalists for the 2014-15 Best of Brand Top Newcomer Award, organized by the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA), in coordination with Elite Level Sport Marketing (ELSM).

Other finalists chosen by the committee include Bucknell, California Baptist, George Mason, Hofstra, Northern Illinois, NYU, Old Dominion, Sacred Heart, UW-Whitewater, Wayland Baptist, and West Virginia.

"The 12 programs in this category did an outstanding job establishing their brand this year," said ELSM CEO Coyte Cooper. "They put a lot of effort into creative marketing efforts and it showed in the product they turned out throughout the season."

Each year, the Top Newcomer Award is given to the program that best uses social media to market their program in their first year in the Best of Brand field. All 12 of these schools have shown their ability to promote their personal brand and create exciting content for fans.

"The Top Newcomer Award is important because it represents growth in our sport," said NWCA Executive Director Mike Moyer. "The more programs that are involved, the better off wrestling is at all levels."

The Top Newcomer Award category falls under the Annual Achievement umbrella of the Best of Brand Awards, which recognizes wrestling programs that use social media successfully to market themselves over the course of the season. Also included under the umbrella of awards are the Gold Standard and Masterful Mission categories.

The Best of Brand Awards program is an initiative designed to honor wrestling programs for their investment in marketing. The awards are meant to inspire coaches to engage in branding initiatives at all levels to grow the sport.